New Jersey Man Hires Hitman to Kill Teenager After Sending Them Explicit Photos

John Musbach, 31, is facing up to 10 years in prison for attempting to hire a hitman to murder a teen he feared would expose his explicit images and videos, according to People.

CBS News claims that Musbach paid the hitman $20,000 in bitcoin, and was pressed for an additional $5,000 for more details of the hit. Musbach allegedly tried to cancel the hit, but the website administrator then revealed that the website was a scam and threatened to reveal Musbach’s information to law enforcement, though it is not confirmed whether the website administrator was the one who informed law enforcement of Musbach’s murder-for-hire scheme.

Musbach’s crimes date back to 2015 when he exchanged sexual photographs and videos with the victim, who at the time was only 13. After the teen’s parents found out, they contacted local police, and in March 2016, Musbach was arrested on child pornography charges. 

After his arrest, Musbach planned to have the victim killed so they couldn’t testify against him in his pending criminal case.